LUCKNOW: At least five toll plaza employees sustained critical burn injuries after an LPG tanker lost control, crashed into a toll plaza and caught fire following a massive explosion in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district on Friday morning, triggering panic and bringing traffic on the highway to a standstill.The accident occurred around 7 am at the Sihori Toll Plaza under Kokhraj police station limits, about 16 km from the district headquarters. The tanker driver and conductor managed to jump out of the vehicle moments before the explosion and escaped with their lives.Eyewitnesses said the LPG tanker was travelling from Kanpur towards Pratapgarh when the driver allegedly attempted to overtake another vehicle. Moving at an estimated speed of 60-70 kmph, the tanker reportedly struck the central divider, overturned and rammed into the toll plaza. Soon after the collision, LPG began leaking from the tanker, followed by a powerful explosion that engulfed the vehicle and parts of the toll plaza in flames.Huge plumes of black smoke and towering flames were visible from nearly two kilometres away. The blaze spread rapidly to the toll plaza yard and adjoining toilet block, leaving several employees trapped in the inferno. Terrified commuters abandoned their vehicles as buses and cars lined up on both sides of the toll plaza, while chaos and panic gripped the area.According to superintendent of police Satyanarayan Prajapat, preliminary information provided by toll plaza staff indicated that the collision caused an LPG leak, which triggered the explosion and subsequent fire. He said the District Supply Officer (DSO) and a technical team had been alerted to ascertain the exact cause of the incident.Seven people were injured in the accident. Five of them, who suffered severe burn injuries, were administered initial treatment at the district hospital before being referred to a hospital in Prayagraj due to their critical condition. The remaining two sustained minor injuries and were discharged after first aid, police said.Toll plaza employee Sanjay Nirmal said there had been light rainfall nearly 10 minutes before the accident. “Suddenly the tanker came crashing down. Gas started leaking immediately and within moments the entire area was engulfed in flames,” he said.The fire also spread to the toll plaza parking yard, reducing at least 16 motorcycles and two cars parked by employees to ashes. A supervisor, identified as Alok Pandey, who was inside a nearby toilet block when the fire spread, also suffered severe burn injuries.Fire brigade teams rushed to the spot and launched firefighting operations. Owing to the intensity of the blaze, rescue efforts were initially hampered as no one could venture close to the burning tanker. Authorities said cooling operations and technical inspection of the damaged tanker were underway, while the exact sequence of events leading to the accident remains under investigation.
